TexasCHLforum.com

anygunanywhere wrote:

Rockrz wrote:
I'd rather not get one of those because I don't think it should be the government's business whether I have any firearms or not.

You are right. It is not any of their business unless, constitutionally, you were asked as part of the unorganized, albeit well regulated militia to muster with the arms you are required to bring with you based on your right to both keep and bear arms.

Rockrz wrote:Well, my whole issue is I'd rather not be on record as being a concealed handgun permit holder.

I want the government to know. The government needs to know exactly how many of us are willing to respond to any further infringements, and also who is going to seek to undo the infringements that have been forced on us by the combined three branches of the federal government and of the several states.

The only government that can exist in harmony with the people who authorize it's very existence is the government that is terrified of the action that the people will take in response to tyranny.

You, sir, and all freedom loving people as defined in the founding documents need to obtain your second amendment permission cards and join the organizations that support us. If you don't, why bother with any other right? They will eventually be taken away and you will be at the mercy of the government the founders feared, very similar to the one they were fighting over two hundred years ago.

Anygunanywhere

Yes Sir!


IMO, there are too many people that want to retain their RKBA "as long as it doesn't get too scary".

Rockrz,

Welcome to the forum and the group of people who believe in taking responsibility for themselves. I wanted to reiterate a few things that have been mentioned here already for you and clarify a few that I am not sure have been cleared up in this forum.

First, the castle doctrine as it was passed in Texas applies to anyone using force to defend himself for any reason and any place. It does not require it to be a CHL or even to be a firearm. If you punch someone in legal self-defense, the law applies to you. Also, this is not limited to your house or business, but applies anywhere you have a legal right to be, such as walking down the street. Since it is not related to firearms, do not think of it in the same way as where you can carry a pistol.

Second, obviously you can have almost any weapon in your home (presuming clear record of course). Under the new law that took effect Sep 1, you can also have a pistol in your car given certain conditions. This includes it must be concealed, you cannot be committing a crime at the time, you cannot be barred from having a weapon, and you cannot be a gang member. These are written in as what is called elements of the offense, which means that local D.A.'s have no choice in obeying this law. They have to prove the lack of these points for you to be convicted of unlawfully carrying. The D.A.'s understand this or will learn it very well as soon as your defense attorney contacts them.

A bigger question is how the police see this law. Some officers do not agree with it and some are not educated enough about it. If you have a pistol in your car, there is a small chance you might get arrested still, but it grows smaller every day as word gets around to the remaining officers. And if you do get arrested, any half decent lawyer would get you off and have the arrest record expunged, so you don't need to worry about a criminal record.

Third, as others have pointed out, black powder weapons (most of them) are not considered firearms in Texas or under federal law, so you can do almost what you want with them. Rifles and shotguns, while firearms, are not covered by the unlawfully carrying law, so you can have one in your car either open or concealed. I would recommend concealed just to lower the target appeal of your car to burglars.

Fourth, as to whether or not you should get a CHL, I wanted to give you another viewpoint. I agree with many that the government knows anything it wants anyway, including if you are likely to have a firearm. The CHL does nothing to help or hinder them that way. But the CHL might help you in one way. As a police officer, when I met someone with a CHL it confirmed for me that they are a good person. Sure, they may have made a mistake just now such as speeding, but they are basically a good person. If I know someone just made an honest mistake, i am much more likely to give them a warning instead of a ticket.

Now, not every police officer will see it this way, and I certainly do not say you will ever get out of any tickets because you have a CHL. I speak only for myself in that respect, but I do know a bunch of other officers who think like I do. If you check the topic on LEO contacts, I think you will find the majority of them show the same thing. It cannot hurt you and can only help you.

Finally, let me second (or third or however many it is) the suggestion that you take a CHL class. You do not need to send in the application if you decide not to, but this will help you learn more about self defense and weapons laws in Texas than almost any other method for the same amount of time.

srothstein wrote:As a police officer, when I met someone with a CHL it confirmed for me that they are a good person. Sure, they may have made a mistake just now such as speeding, but they are basically a good person. If I know someone just made an honest mistake, i am much more likely to give them a warning instead of a ticket.

Now, not every police officer will see it this way, and I certainly do not say you will ever get out of any tickets because you have a CHL. I speak only for myself in that respect, but I do know a bunch of other officers who think like I do.

Having little to do with the topic, and maybe should be squeezed into LEO Contacts somewhere:
I've spent a good deal of time as a truck driver. By the nature of that profession, I've had more than my share of conversations with law enforcement officers on the shoulder of the road.
There are some things you are going to get a ticket for and some things you're probably not.
And there are a lot of things you might get a ticket for. Dealing with him (or her) with respect, being cooperative, "yes Sir," and "no Sir," goes a long way to not being ticketed, IMO. I try to keep in mind that this officer is not "out to get me," he's just doing his job, same as me. Truckers who have a long list of bad experiences with "bears" are truckers who I suspect get out of the truck with an attitude as soon as they're stopped.
I think a CHL works along these lines. As srothstein points out, it tells them you're basically a good person. They know you've gone through the background check and all that. So it could be one more reason for them to see you as a law-abiding citizen rather than some troublemaker who needs to be taught a lesson.

mgood wrote:Truckers who have a long list of bad experiences with "bears" are truckers who I suspect get out of the truck with an attitude as soon as they're stopped.

When I was a kid (15 years old) working my first job at a full service gas station, one of the guys I worked with (way older than I was) told me to always treat the cops as though you were talking to your elderly, very rich, grandfather whom you don't want to tick off because he might write you out of the will.

The guy's reasoning was since the cops have the ability to throw you in jail and really mess up your life (and cost you alot of money!), this was incentive to be very polite. Over the years, I've found that to be good advice because I've never had any problems with cops other than a few speeding tickets which was years ago, and I was actually speeding so I couldn't complain.

Rockrz wrote:

mgood wrote:Truckers who have a long list of bad experiences with "bears" are truckers who I suspect get out of the truck with an attitude as soon as they're stopped.

When I was a kid (15 years old) working my first job at a full service gas station, one of the guys I worked with (way older than I was) told me to always treat the cops as though you were talking to your elderly, very rich, grandfather whom you don't want to tick off because he might write you out of the will.

Your co-worker gave you good advice. I didn't get a ticket until I was in my mid-twenties, in spite of my lead foot. I attribute some of this to simply being polite when pulled over.

Good thing about getting older is I don't have the need to speed anymore.
Plus, cruise control helps alot too.